Seismic Nightmares

Yesterday, the final counter top piece went into place. It went in without a great deal of fanfare. Though it is heavier than any of the previous pieces, I was able to get it in the house and onto the beam that I installed earlier. I added some 4X4 angle iron to the wall and the end of the cabinet. I then drilled through them and the bottom of the slab and installed cinch anchors to bolt it down securely. My original plan was to have it jut out from the wall and, seemingly, float without support. As I contemplated this plan, I realized that it might not be the best idea that I've ever devised. Under ordinary circumstances it would not be a problem. The one big issue is this is SoCal, earthquake country. Having nightmares of sitting at the table during a temblor and having it crush our legs, or worse, made me rethink my original plans. As can be seen in the photo, I stuck a temporary 2X6 leg in place. I will be adding a thin leg to support the end of the counter. I'll probably use a length of black pipe and cover it with a false leg, made of oak, to match the cabinets. Not what I envisioned, but I'll sleep better knowing it should not come crashing down.

Oh Lord, I'm Stuck In Lodi Again........Well, Actually, Palmdale

Last month, I was going to go on a ride with a bunch of guys to Big Bear, a local mountain resort area where one of them has a cabin. I packed my sleeping bag and a toothbrush as well as a few cold weather items and headed towards Barstow, a particularly unattractive place to live, but a good spot to hook up with my buddy and ride in together. A weekend of riding, eating all the wrong stuff, telling lies and other geriatric motorcycle debauchery awaited me. What could possibly go wrong? I got about 60 miles from home and the bike began to run very poorly. I pulled over to the side of the road and attempted to find the problem. It acted like a fuel issue, but everything seemed OK, yet it ran like crap. I was able to nurse it to my daughters house. The next day, I returned with my trailer and drug it home. A laundry list of things that needed to be done, including moving Wifey's mom into a assisted living facility, kept me out of the shop for a few weeks. I was, finally, able to go down and tear into it. My first suspicion was the fuel pressure regulator, but it was holding a steady 4 pounds. Next I removed the fuel filter, which is a nice billet aluminum deal that I ordered from Jeg's. It has a 40 micron stainless screen in it. I opened it up and dumped all of this crud out of it. It is all rust. I suspect that it is due to the crummy, ethanol laced, moose piss that the benevolent oil companies are foisting off onto us and calling it gasoline. I'm no chemist but I believe alcohol is hygroscopic. It attracts water, which then condenses on the inside of the gas tank and, voila, clogs up the works. I only have 2 or 3 thousand miles on the bike since the new fuel system. I'd hate to think that this will happen again so soon. I plan on another ride in two days with the same group. I hope I'm not left stranded again. I'm going to hook the trailer to the truck before I leave so if the worst happens, I can call Wifey to come and pick me up

The Final Straw

Did you ever reach a point where you said, "Enough!! This is crap and I'm done with it."? Last month, I went in for a checkup and was given a test for sleep apnea. Sure enough, I have moderate sleep apnea. I stop breathing about 10 times an hour. They set me up with a CPAP machine to wear at night to force air into my lungs when I stop breathing. Two weeks ago, I stepped on the scale and saw that I have set a new personal high for obesity. I'm 6 feet tall and weighed 236 pounds. Not a fatso, by modern, lardass American standards but, at least, 50 pounds more than a guy my height should weigh. For me, that was the point when I said it. No more. I cut back on my food intake and have been watching what I do eat and, in a bit less than two weeks, I'm down 9 pounds. 190/195 is my goal. I have not had an episode of a/fib in several months. I don't know why, but I'll take it anyway that I can get it. I don't know if loosing weight will help with it, but it sure as hell can't hurt. I need to get back on the treadmill also. I was up to 7 miles a day at 7 miles per hour and then I broke my toe. It took over a month before it stopped hurting and, by that time, I lost my desire to get back on. At 66 years old and with a family history of death of male members between 55 and 62 years old, I really am pushing my luck, carrying around all this extra fat. I've always been one to take my excesses to the limit before I get the message. So, along with cigarettes, drugs and drinking for effect, I have to say good bye to gluttony.

In Memorium

No silly puns or corny jokes today. In 2002, we lost our son, Tom. As anyone can imagine, it was a devastating event in our lives. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He was 29 and had so much to live for, especially his beautiful little girl, who is an even more beautiful 14 year old now. This happened in Kansas, where he was living. We flew there and brought him home. He was cremated and buried at our, local cemetery. I kept a small container of his ashes, planning to make some sort of urn for them. It just seemed like it was never the right time to do it. The small container sat in the closet, semi forgotten. The other day, I decided that I needed to do something. I have a bunch of really nice, exotic hardwood that I got when I helped to clean out my uncles garage. They had to put him in a nursing home and I got most of his tools and materials. I cut some 1/8 veneer from a particularly pretty piece of South American Macacauba. I laminated the veneer to some 1/2 inch birch plywood. I then cut the four sides and the top and mitered the corners. With some careful clamping, all the corners came together very nicely. I wanted real crisp, sharp corners and I managed to get them. After a good sanding down to 320 grit, I sent it to the local trophy shop for laser engraving. Tom was an avid skateboarder, so I made this little skateboard and mounted it on top. The board is maple burl and the wheels are walnut. I used brazing rod for the axles. I put a couple of strips of grip tape on the face of the board. I know the real boards have the tape covering the entire top, but I wanted the figured burl wood to show, so I took some artistic license. In all, it turned out very nice and we're both very pleased with it.

Framed Again

A friend asked if I could build a couple of picture frames for him. The pictures were a Japanese landscape and zebras at a water hole. The first one, I just milled up some maple into a pleasing (to me) profile for a frame. I mitered it together and cut a piece of glass for it and mounted the picture. I failed to take a picture of it. The other one, I thought I'd get a little fancier and follow the theme of the zebras. I cut some long quarter inch strips of the maple and some walnut and laminated them together. After the glue set up, I cut across the laminations, at one inch increments, and glued them up. This left me with two long, inch by three quarter strips that were dark and light every quarter inch. I then ripped these strips on the band saw to one half by three quarters. I cut the main portion of the frame from some more of the maple to the same profile as the first one. I then glued the strips to the perimeter of the frame. Cut another piece of glass and it's a done deal. I think it came out pretty nice.

Boxing Day

No, this isn't about some British Commonwealth holiday that no one's ever heard of, much less celebrates. I made this box for the little guitar. It is made from the rest of the African mahogany with some walnut accents. The accents are there for two reasons. One is to match the walnut strips and fretboard and the other was that there wasn't enough of the mahogany left to make it deep enough. Poor planning can be a creative tool. It's hard to see in the picture, but I cut a decorative rosette pattern on the lid, using a router and a special jig. I lined the inside with some felt. The hinges and latches came from Lowes. A few coats of lacquer and a rub down and it's a done deal. As a post scrip, we were able to hook it up to an amp today, and it played just fine. I would like to build another one. I guess I'll just have to wait until someone requests one

Pickin' And Grinnin'

I was asked, by a friend, if I would build another cigar box guitar for him. He wants to give it to a business associate of his. I decided, this time, I would attempt a resonator style. They incorporate a metal cone that the bridge rests on. The strings cause the cone to vibrate and it gives it a nice, different sound, as well as a degree of amplification. Again, I grabbed a piece of maple that I salvaged from some old church pews. I laminated a billet for the neck with it and some thin strips of walnut. The fingerboard is also walnut. I bought some fret wire from a luthier supply. The fret markers are brass on the face of the neck and on the edge. I transferred the fret positions from a guitar that I have. It has a 25 1/2 inch scale. That is, it is 25 1/2 inches from the nut, which is the piece that the strings rest on at the end of the neck, to the bridge. The scale length is very important, otherwise, you'll never tune it properly. I cut the grooves for the frets with a Japanese pull saw and a homemade miter box. The tuners were also ordered from the same people. I ordered a resonator and cover from a vendor in Texas. It looks real nice. I had selected a real pretty box that I got from the local cigar shop, but when the cone arrived, it proved to be too small. I had set my mind on the box being fancy, rather than the typical, paper covered box. I was not able to find anything at the store that was large enough and pretty enough to suit my plans. I went to the lumber yard and bought a piece of African Mahogany and set about to build a box. So, this will not be a cigar box guitar, but a pseudo CBG. I hope the purists aren't too upset. The box turned out well. I finger jointed the corners and inset the top and bottom panels in. The bottom was made up from alternating, quarter inch, maple and walnut strips. I like the way it looks. I cut two F holes in the top with the scroll saw. It was the first time that I've had a chance to use it. I sprayed 3 or 4 coats of lacquer on it, sanding and steel wooling between coats. It has a nice satin sheen. The volume knob, the neck strap knob thingys (don't know what they're called) and the bridge biscuit were turned from some maple burl that I have, laying around. The tailpiece for the strings was cut from a piece of brass stock. Since I have no idea how to tune or play a guitar, I took it to couple of guys from my church. After some tuning, they picked out a few tunes on it and announced that it played well. We were unable to connect it to an amp because either one had a cord with them so I'll have to wait until this Sunday to check it out. In the meantime, I think I'll make a nice box to put it in. The old bluesmen may have carried theirs in a gunny sack, but I think it deserves better